DEAR EDITOR:

The Valley lost another true leader of the community this past week with the passing of Sister Ann McManamon, the founder of the Youngstown Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House. Sister Ann opened the house in 2009 to serve those in need of food, showers, or simply a place to sit and talk. She always believed in the motto of Dorothy Day: “Presence, listening, and learning are the keys to the soul,” and that a good meal helps as well.

I was fortunate to work alongside Sister Ann for 13 years, and I remember her quoting Desmond Tutu: “We need to stop pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” Her devotion to Dorothy Day resonated with everyone who walked through the doors of that house. Rest easy, my friend; you and Dorothy are together again.

CHRISTINE SILVESTRI

Youngstown